 |
| Happy 9th Birthday Anna! |
The first week of September was a big one for Anna. Not only did she start school, but she celebrated her 9th birthday on September 3. While Anna occasionally complains about being the youngest in her class, thus the last one to turn 9, she is the first one to have a birthday for the school year. Class birthday parties are a thing of the past when you begin 4th grade. Instead, you get a dress down day - something Anna was VERY excited about (its not every day you get to be the only kid in the entire school not in uniform).
Since Anna's birthday was on Thursday and it was hot, she got to hang out at the pool with some of her friends after school. She celebrated with one of her favorite dinners - gnocchi followed by an oreo ice cream cake. The most exciting part was the presents, which included art supplies, soccer gear, and of course cash (Anna has plans for that).
The real party happened the following day. Anna had a choice this year between a larger party at home or a smaller outing (3 friends) doing something she loves - ziplining. Anna chose the zipling with her good friends Banaue, Ellie & Sofia. This seemed like a great idea to Theresa at the time. The girls had a half day of school, they could go ziplining in the afternoon. We could pack a picnic. What could go wrong?
 |
| Sofia, Banaue, Ellie, Anna & Claudia ready to suit up. |
The first challenge happened earlier in the week when Joe came down with vertigo. It quickly became clear that there was no way that he could drive let a long zipline with the girls (it was a 2 kids to 1 adult ratio on some of the courses, so another adult was needed). The first order of business was to rent a minivan in order to get all of the girls in one vehicle. Anna was VERY excited about this bonus - especially after discovering the van had a tv "just like Grandma's van." The girls enjoyed watching bugs bunny on the way to the zip lining course. The second challenge was recruiting another adult willing to zipline. Fortunately Claudia, a George Mason University student from Theresa's home town of Paulding, was available and willing to help. This was a double bonus for Anna who LOVES Claudia and was quite excited that she was coming.
 |
| Harnassed and ready to zip line |
It was a great afternoon and the girls had a blast. The zip line course was quite amazing with different levels of obstacles up in the trees. Just getting ready was an event unto itself with all of the harnesses that were needed. You definitely need to plan ahead for appropriate clothing attire. Claudia and Theresa split up with the girls, each taking two. Of course the girls did not need help as much as the adults did. One course became so difficult that the staff had to be called in with a ladder to get part of the group down (Banaue & Ellie are the only girls that made it across). Banaue, the smallest of the group, got stuck on a zipline and needed a staff member to unhook her (we could hear her voice through the trees saying "I'm stuck on the zipline and have a serious wedgie.") Joe served as the photographer for the group, but fortunately missed the moment when Theresa crashed into a mulch pile at the end of a zipline. At the end of the day, everyone was hot, sweaty, dirty and tired, but ready to celebrate with pizza and cake.
A big thanks to Grandma & Grandpa as well as aunts and uncles for all of the birthday wishes. An extra big thanks to Claudia for braving a group of 9 year old girls to help chaperone the zip lining. Happy Birthday Anna!
 |
| Anna on one of the obstacles |
Comments